Occupational Safety and Health Interventions

Background

Occupational incidents, accidents, injuries, ill health and fatalities can be reduced through occupational safety and health (OSH) interventions. The effectiveness of these interventions can be evaluated through research studies, with different methods and data providing different degrees of evidence of effectiveness. Reviews compile and analyse findings from multiple research studies and, by bringing together findings from multiple studies, can be used to compare interventions and better understand evidence about the effectiveness of interventions. However, existing reviews of studies of OSH interventions are limited and vary in quality.

Aims

To review existing reviews of OSH interventions in order to provide a comprehensive summary of the evidence regarding effectiveness of OSH interventions and to describe the quality of that evidence.

Methods and Approach

We conducted a systematic literature review of reviews of OSH interventions studies published from 2015 onward, following on from a previous systematic review. Searches were run in PubMed, Scopus, EBSCOhost (Academic Source Complete), Embase, and Web of Science Core Collection. A total of 53 review articles met our inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Data were extracted in line with the study aims and synthesised via a thematic analysis approach.

Findings

We identified two main themes. The first is the quality of the evidence base, and the second is the quality of the reviews themselves. The primary studies included within reviews were often of poor quality, lacking objective measures and theories of change, and, as such, contributed to a sparse and heterogenous evidence base. Moreover, the reviews themselves varied widely in quality. Methodologies varied in how robust they were and often lacked clear definitions of safety. The quality appraisal tools used by authors also varied.

Discussion

The findings from this review indicate that, despite some high-quality reviews, the evidence base remains limited and varied in quality and that further research is needed to provide a robust evidence base. To support such an evidence base, underpinning work could seek to establish standardised definitions and measures, further explore appropriate methods to appraise evidence and study quality within this field, and encourage theoretical frameworks and theories of change for OSH interventions.